The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Aaron Ramsey

  • Ramsey has played last Arsenal match – Emery

    Arsenal manager Unai Emery has said Aaron Ramsey will not play for the club again because of a hamstring injury sustained in the Europa League quarterfinal second leg clash away to Napoli.

    Ramsey’s 11-year association with Arsenal will come to an end on June 30 when he will join Juventus on a free transfer.

    And, speaking ahead of the semifinal first leg at home to Valencia, Emery confirmed Ramsey would be unavailable for selection for the remainder of the campaign.

    “At the moment we are only in the semifinal, and secondly the prognosis is not OK for this date,” Emery said.

    “He is important for us. We cannot use him and the danger is always there for a forward player like that.

    “We have players who can play [in that position], but he was in a good moment when he had this injury.

    “For me it was a good experience to work with every player and with him especially, because he can transmit his energy and he showed me his heart is red with Arsenal.

    “I wanted to enjoy with him. I said to him one month ago that I wanted to do something important in his last matches with us at the moment — maybe he can come back in the future. It will not be with him on the pitch but he is still with us.”

    Arsenal, who are in a battle to qualify for the Champions League, face Brighton and Burnley in their final two Premier League fixtures as well as Valencia over two legs in the Europa League semifinals.

    The Wales international, who is Arsenal’s longest-serving player, joined from Cardiff in 2008.

    During his time with the club he has won the FA Cup on three occasions, scoring the winning goal in 2014 and 2017.

    It has also been reported that Arsenal will hold a guard of honour for Ramsey and retiring goalkeeper Petr Cech after Sunday’s match against Brighton at the Emirates, their final Premier League home game of the season.

  • Arsenal climb to third with victory over Newcastle United

    Goals from Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette gave Arsenal a 2-0 win over Newcastle United on Monday.

    The win lifted the north London side to third place in the Premier League above rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

    Ramsey found his way through a packed defence on the half-hour following a sweeping move.

    The Welsh midfielder found Lacazette and raced forward into the area to meet the return pass with a sweetly timed left-foot shot that went in off the far post.

    Lacazette put the game to bed in the 83rd minute when Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles failed to clear a header into the area from Arsenal substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

    The Frenchman nipped in behind Lascelles and chipped an inch-perfect ball over keeper Martin Dubravka to seal the win.

    Read also: Premier League January transfer spending fell for first time since 2012

    The result put Arsenal on 63 points, two ahead of Spurs and Manchester United, with London rivals Chelsea a further point behind.

    The win ensured that Arsenal keep alive their hopes of a top-four finish and qualification for Champions League football next season.

    Newcastle remain in 14th place on 35 points. (Reuters/NAN)

  • Aaron Ramsey agrees five-year deal with Juventus

     

    Aaron Ramsey has agreed a five-year deal with Juventus and will leave Arsenal at the end of the season. The 28 year old will thus be set to team up with former Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo who joined Juve shortly after the World cup in Russia.

    Ramsey has been in talks with the Italian champions since last year and is now expected to end his 10-year stay at Arsenal.

    According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, an agreement had been reached for Ramsey to move to Turin in the summer.

    The deal is said to be worth £36million, with the Wales international set to earn £140,000-a-week

    ‘Aaron Ramsey to on next June, done deal,’ Romano tweeted. ‘His agent will be in Italy soon to meet Juventus director Paratici and sign the contract for next season. 

    The 28-year-old was told by Arsenal at the back end of last year that he was free to leave the club.It was a decision reached by the club’s senior executives, who believed it was the right move in the long-term interest of Arsenal.

    Juventus chief Fabio Paratici said earlier this year in an interview with Sky Sports Italy that Ramsey is an ‘excellent player.’ ‘He’s an excellent player. For years he’s been performing at a top level,’ said Paratici. ‘His contract is expiring and we are always attentive to the potential developments. So he falls in that category.’Will he join us in the summer? That remains to be seen. ‘At the moment he’s an Arsenal player, certainly we aren’t the only ones following him.’

    Ramsey who joined Arsenal in 2008 from Cardiff for £4.8 million has made over 252 appearances for the Emirates Stadium landlords, scoring over 38 goals

  • Ramsey to leave Arsenal for Juventus

    Arsenal midfielder, Aaron Ramsey has agreed to a five year deal with Italian giant Juventus, at the end of the 2018/2019 season.

    The deal is worth around 36 million pounds.

    Ramsey, who joined the Gunners from Cardiff in 2008, and scored 52 goals in 252 Premier League matches, will undergo a medical test on Sunday, after being told by Arsenal manager Unai Emery that he is not part of his plans at the Emirates.

    Read Also: Aaron Ramsey header hands Gunners FA Cup glory

    The deal is expected to be finalised after Juventus’ Super Cup fixture against AC Milan next Wednesday.

    It is reported that he will earn up to 140,000 pounds a week with the Italian club, which rounds up to 7.2 million pounds a season

    Major highlights for Ramsey at the Emirates will include his  winning goal in the FA Cup final against Hull City in 2014 and Chelsea in 2017, clinching three FA Cup titles in the process. He however had injury challenges, which turned out a dent in his career

  • Aaron Ramsey welcomes twins

    DOUBLE trouble! Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey shows off new twins for the first time

    Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has shown off his newborn twin sons for the very first time.

    The 27-year-old and his wife Colleen welcomed two boys on October 16. Names are yet to be announced.

    The Wales international wrote ‘double trouble’ alongside the picture he shared with his social media followers (Instagram) on Wednesday.

    Ramsey was unable to play for Wales against Ireland – which his side won 1-0 – due to their imminent arrival. He was also absent for Arsenal’s Europa League clash away to Qarabag to be on hand at home.

    He returned to action on Monday, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute in Arsenal’s impressive 3-1 win against Leicester at the Emirates stadium.

    The arrival of twins provides a welcome distraction for Ramsey from his current contract stand-off with Arsenal.

  • Arsenal’s Wenger understands Mertesacker’s wish to retire

    Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he understands club skipper Per Mertesacker’s desire to stop playing next season because of the mental and physical toll the game has taken on the German.

    The World Cup-winning defender said in an interview with German publication Der Spiegel that his “body was finished” and that he would rather sit on the bench or in the stands.

    Mertesacker has made only 11 appearances for Arsenal this season.

    Arsenal had already announced the 33-year-old would take up a role with the Premier League club’s academy next season.

    Wenger was asked about Mertesacker’s comments at a news conference on the eve of Thursday’s Europa League last 16 clash at home to AC Milan which they lead 2-0 from the first leg.

    “The quotes weren’t a surprise for me,” Wenger said.

    “To be a pro footballer is high expectations. They are very demanding of themselves and that creates stress.

    “There is huge expectation from the environment they are in and that creates stress. To play at the level they play you need a huge resistance to stress. You are depending on your body.”

    Wenger described Mertesacker, who he signed from Werder Bremen in 2011, as the model professional and said he could change his mind about playing again.

    Read Also: Suffering is part of my job – Wenger

    “I think once you stop for a few months you are ready to play again,” Wenger said. “Of course, he’s had a very long career and he puts pressure (on himself) in every single training (session).

    “He never plays one minute without being totally focussed and that demands a huge amount of effort which is why he made the career he has made.”

    Wenger’s side have had an upturn in form after a four-match losing sequence in all competitions, beating Milan away followed by a 3-0 Premier League win at home to Watford.

    However, they are 12 points adrift of fourth-placed Liverpool so their most realistic hope of qualifying for next season’s Champions League is by winning the Europa League.

    Midfielder Aaron Ramsey said finishing off Milan would not be easy but the Europa League was a ‘massive opportunity’.

    “We saw how good they are and we can’t take our foot off the gas,” the Welshman said. “We’ll treat it as 0-0 and go out to try and win the game, that’s the right mentality.

    “It’s a massive opportunity for us. This game is very important for us and our season.”

    NAN

  • Ramsey demands raise in £110,000 a week wage

    Ramsey demands raise in £110,000 a week wage

     

    Arsenal are concerned that midfielder Aaron Ramsey could follow the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez by running his contract into its final year.

    Ramsey’s current deal expires in the summer of 2019 and Arsenal are eager to retain the services of the Welshman, who has made more appearances, 318, for the club than any other current member of the first-team squad.

    As reported by The Times, Ramsey wants a significant increase on his current wages of £110,000 a week, especially with recent signings Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang earning around £170,000 a week each.

    Arsenal want to avoid a repeat of the situation that saw Ozil and Sanchez, as well as Jack Wilshere, enter the last year of their contracts with their futures still uncertain.

    Ozil eventually signed a new deal earlier this month that saw him up his wages to around £300,000 a week, while Sanchez joined Manchester United and Wilshere has yet to commit to a new contract.

    Ramsey has scored six goals and provided eight assists in 18 Premier League appearances for Arsenal this season but has missed several games through injury.

    The 27-year-old’s representative recently left his agency and set up a new company, which has delayed negotiations over Ramsey’s new deal, but isn’t expected to be a significant problem going forwards.

    Ramsey, having recovered from illness, will hope to start when Arsenal take on Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.

    Arsenal’s next Premier League game is also against City, with the sides meeting at Emirates Stadium next week.

  • Ramsey wants Gunners to maintain momentum

    Ramsey wants Gunners to maintain momentum

    Aaron Ramsey is keen for Arsenal to maintain their momentum after returning to winning ways in the Premier League against West Brom.

    A second-half header from Danny Welbeck gave Arsenal a 1-0 away win at The Hawthorns on Saturday, a result that followed a 2-0 UEFA Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

    The north London club’s back-to-back triumphs represent a strong response to last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United and, with two games in the space of four days versus Southampton and Stoke City on the horizon, Ramsey knows the upcoming week will be key to Arsenal’s hopes of a successful domestic campaign.

    “Even though there was pressure, we played well against Man United and just built on that,” Ramsey said.

    “We won in midweek against Dortmund and carried on and got back to winning ways in the league, so hopefully we can continue this run now.

    “It was important to build on midweek and keep this run going and it is nice to win again.

    “It was never going to be easy with the quick turnaround but we did well, we dug in and got the three points.”